


Soar

by nntssy



Series: Likely Matchups & Unlikely Reunions [2]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Battle Scenes, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:27:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25761331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nntssy/pseuds/nntssy
Summary: It would have been so relaxing just to lay there, forget about everything and recuperate. But the dust wasn't settling. Which meant his nakama were still fighting. And he knew they were giving it their all. So should he.[Set during Strawhats' eventual confrontation with the Blackbeard Pirates. Usopp-centric. Potentially canon-divergent. Slight hint of Usopp x Kaya.]
Relationships: Mugiwara Kaizoku ︳Strawhat Pirates & Usopp
Series: Likely Matchups & Unlikely Reunions [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1943815
Comments: 6
Kudos: 13





	Soar

**Author's Note:**

> I had a bout of inspiration a few weeks ago and then lost it before could start anything :( Still decided to write something down.

_"I am a leaf on the wind... Watch how I soar…"_

Hoban "Wash" Washburne, _Firefly_

He felt like there was no bone in his body that wasn't broken. The ringing in his ears was dying down, but slight dizziness persisted. He might have had a concussion. As always, he got beaten up to a pulp. After all the attempts to avoid any possible confrontation.

It would have been so relaxing just to lay there, forget about everything and recuperate. To think about something peaceful. Like his home village. The rustling of the tree leaves. Warm sunlight on his skin. Kaya's radiant smile. He got so many stories to tell her, a notebook full of notes... 

But the dust wasn't settling. The _bangs_ and _bams_ in a distance weren't quieting down. The battle was still going on. Which meant his _nakama_ were still fighting. And he knew they were giving it their all. So should he.

He was forcing himself to get up into a sitting position. After minutes (could be hours, for all he knew) of pain and groaning, he managed it. There must be something he still can do. But one must assess the situation first.

Usopp looked around. He wasn't anyone's target for now, not at first glance at least. That was reassuring. Now that he was out of the immediate danger he needed a bigger picture of what was happening. He needed to find some kind of high ground. 

The last blow had thrown him into some kind of ruins. There was a half-destroyed tower in about a hundred meters from where he was now kneeling. That would be a nice start.

He gathered all that left of his strength and got up. Even though getting there would make him an easy mark, he proceeded to the tower.

_I am nakama of the future Pirate King._

He climbed the stairs despite some of the stones crumbling under his feet and hands. 

_I was Sogeking, the King of Snipers, the one to throw a challenge to the World Government authority at Enies Lobby._

The tower had no roof, and the top floor lacked most of its walls. He was out in the open. But it gave him a good view of the battlefield. He slid his goggles down on his eyes. The Black Kabuto was ready in his hand. 

_I was Usoland, who had become the legendary hero for the Tontatta tribe._

There were clouds of dust everywhere. An occasional explosion of rocks here and there. A mountain got cut through in the distant part of the island. _Zoro_. A ball of fire was falling from the sky at three o'clock. _Sanji_. A lonely thundercloud was forming at five. _Nami_. Giant hands were pummeling in the forest. _Robin_. An abrupt and sharp beam of light - a laser beam - shot at nine o'clock. _Franky_. A water blast near the shore - _Jinbei_. The whirlwind of darkness was forming far away at twelve o'clock. _That might be where Luffy is holding his ground against Blackbeard._ The sound of a violin was assuring him that Brook was still standing as well. The closest one was Monster Chopper – he could see the reindeer with a naked eye.

Suddenly, some figure approaching Chopper on the cliff behind his back caught Usopp's eye. But the Monster Reindeer's attention was clearly on someone else. _The Blackbeard Pirates don't play fair, do they?_

The bullet was already in his hand, the strings already stretching.

_The pain I feel is nothing._

The offender was down before he could strike. But how many more were there, hiding, preparing to strike from the blind spots? As one of the Emperors, Teach had a lot of followers.

_I know what I have to do._

Usopp closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He focused on his friends' approximate positions. _Breathe in, breathe out._ Zoro taught him some meditation techniques to help him calm down. _Focus on your breath_. Sanji had given him some tips as well. _I am a leaf on the wind..._

There were too many life signatures. But his crewmates were like the brightest stars in the sky on a clear night at the sea. He focused on one at a time, taking in the situation around them.

There were some pricks ganging up on Nami. _Green Star: Devil!_ Now they were being eaten by giant plants. Someone got onto Chopper's back. Usopp sent a few _Lead Stars_ to knock them off. He fired a few more shots in different directions, to provide support for his _nakama_ when needed, using his more sneaky attacks, so the targets wouldn't see it coming. And less flashy bullets also helped him to avoid being discovered.

All of a sudden he felt something different. Something malevolent. And it was directed at him. He turned to the source of it. Just in time, it seemed, because he felt a bullet graze his shoulder. _Crap! I was found out!_ Panicking, he jumped to the remaining wall in an attempt to hide.

_It was going to happen at some point. There is no point in fretting now._

Usopp took a deep breath. He could use his _Boaty Banana_ to get additional cover, but the big yellow thing could get unnecessary attention. _I need to pinpoint the position of the shooter._ He took out his small spyglass and carefully peeked from behind the remains of the stone wall. By the trajectory of the first shot, he approximated the direction. _They must be on some kind of elevation as well._ Usopp was scanning the landscape when he felt another bullet coming his way. He had barely avoided it. _Crap! It's better to lay low for a while!_ His knees were trembling like crazy. The heart was about to get free from his chest and flutter away.

Another deep breath. Usopp opened his eyes again. A certain detail immediately caught his attention. The angle of the last shot. Judging by the mark it left on the floor and the height of the stone wall remains it crossed over, the enemy sniper should have been located somewhere higher than Usopp. He mentally went over the image of the landscape. _The mountains!_

In the spur of the moment, eager to confirm his assumption, Usopp picked up his spyglass and cautiously peeked from behind the wall again. Eventually, he spotted a silhouette, tall and lean, somewhat bearing a resemblance to a hammerhead shark, near one of the peaks. _A Fishman?_ The shooter seemed to handle something akin to a riffle. Usopp promptly shifted back to his hideout. The mountain range was really, _really_ , far away – that man had to be one hell of a sniper. _Damn!_

Usopp was preparing to just wait it out, to let his enemy forget all about him, when a horrid thought struck upon his mind. Much like for him, everyone else, distracted by their own enemies, were just sitting ducks for the Hammerhead Man. The enemy sniper could eliminate the Straw Hat Crew and their allies one by one, and they would be none the wiser.

" _Is it really much farther than that time at the Gates of Justice?_ " his conscience talked to him in Robin's voice.

" _Or that time in Dressrosa?_ " This time it was Luffy, blunt as ever. _Like you would know, Luffy!_

" _Come on, boyo! You won every shooting contest we ever had!_ " He almost felt Franky's comforting pat on his back.

" _No one is better suited for this than you, young man._ "

" _We need you, Usopp._ " Can he even say a 'no' to the reindeer?

" _Yo-ho-ho-ho! You are much braver than you think, Usopp-san._ "

'' _Who knows what will happen to the rest of the World, if we lose today._ " _That's not encouraging, Nami._

He remembered Sanji's instructions. _Focus on the breath._ The mental image of Zoro was just looking at him wordlessly, but Usopp had known him long enough to understand his expression. _Concentrate. Remember what you are fighting for._ The images of Syrup Village flooded his mind. Kaya. The Usopp pirates. The faint memory of his dad. 

Usopp sprinkled some water on Black Kabuto from a strategically hidden water flask. _Breathe in, breathe out._ His knees stopped shaking. His body was still aching. He focused on the Hammerhead Man position, and, as if feeling all of his friends' hands encouragingly pushing him forward, he got up.

_My name is Usopp, son of Yasopp._

Projectile ready in his hand, he stretched the strings of his weapon. 

_Watch how I soar!_

**Author's Note:**

> I'm assuming Usopp hasn't met his dad yet.And the Hammerhead Man is Van Augur, but that's probably obvious.  
> This got a bit out of control in the end. I have a really vague idea of how Usopp's Observation Haki works and if there is any use for the carnivorous thing in his Black Kabuto other than chewing rocks.


End file.
